Prompt: Examine the process of decline and attempted reform between two of the following empires: Russia, Ottoman Empire, Qing China.
1. Has acceptable thesis.
Possibility:
Political stagnation, an inability to stimulate their economy, and increased social tensions led to the decline of the (Empire 1) and (Empire 2), prompting them to attempt to modernize their labor force and economy along a more Western model.
What I want to see is something related to the decline (which would be the continuity) and reform (which would be the change). Think about how much the three empires have in common when it comes to decline. And, as far as reform, thing about how similar changes-- there are a lot!
2. Addresses all parts of the question, though not necessarily evenly or thoroughly.
Show me evidence of a progressionof events, beginning in 1750, ending in 1914. You can group in many different ways: one paragraph mentioning decline for both empires, another looking at reforms. If you can give me context for the decline and reform, you're also hitting requirement for Rubric Item #4.
Sample evidence of decline:
Russia:
Autocratic czar not always making best decisions for rest of Empire to live by
Nobility allowed to oppress and exploit serfs - no innovations
Inability to industrialize * serfs tied to land, ag. production not high enough
Difficulty in fully exploiting resources in vast empire
Isolated from much of trade in Europe and world
Nobility and Monarchy does not have much interest in economic reforms
Serfs fully exploited
Nobility does not want to, need to change
Enlightenment ideas trickle in from W. Europe, are repressed
Ottoman:
Janissaries sabotage meaningful reforms
Sultans detached from daily workings of the empire
Increased corruption and graft makes day-to-day living more difficult
Regional governors fail to send tax money to capital, raise own armies
Gov't increasingly dominated by Europeans - capitulations
Empire does not industrialize - corruption stunts development
Reliance on exporting raw materials for manufactured goods
Lack of investment in businesses or infrastructure
Qing Dynasty not as active or innovative as it had been
Bureaucracy begins to drift away from core values
Gov't increasingly dominated by Europeans - unequal treaties
Country sees no reason to industrialize in new ways
Belief that country adequately self-sufficient
Increased population puts strain on ag., industry
Unequal treaties - post-Opium War
Simmering disillusionment with gov't
Existing dislike of Manchus
Sample evidence of Reform:
Russia:
Zemstvos
Western-style rights, laws, courts
Witte System
Trans-Siberian Railway
Emancipation of Serfs
Development of infrastructure
Ottoman:
Eradication of Janissaries
Tanzimat
Legal codes modeled after French
Secularization
China:
Self-Strengthening Movement
Attempts at industrializing
3. Substantiates thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
Give me SPECIFICS here - names, dates, events, people, countries. Don't simply generalize or talk around it. Prove to me that you know the material!
4. Uses relevant world historical context effectively to explain change over time and/or continuity.
Items that you might want to cover here: Imperialism, Industrialization, Nationalism, Enlightenment, Westernization
5. Analyzes the process of change over time and/or continuity.
This is going beyond simply defining decline and reform. You're doing more work to tell me WHY - What are the options available to the country? Why are they making the decisions that they are? You might be taking an active position here - what do you think?!
Prompt: Examine the process of decline and attempted reform between two of the following empires: Russia, Ottoman Empire, Qing China.
1. Has acceptable thesis.
Possibility:
Political stagnation, an inability to stimulate their economy, and increased social tensions led to the decline of the (Empire 1) and (Empire 2), prompting them to attempt to modernize their labor force and economy along a more Western model.
What I want to see is something related to the decline (which would be the continuity) and reform (which would be the change). Think about how much the three empires have in common when it comes to decline. And, as far as reform, thing about how similar changes-- there are a lot!
2. Addresses all parts of the question, though not necessarily evenly or thoroughly.
Show me evidence of a progression of events, beginning in 1750, ending in 1914. You can group in many different ways: one paragraph mentioning decline for both empires, another looking at reforms. If you can give me context for the decline and reform, you're also hitting requirement for Rubric Item #4.
Sample evidence of decline:
Russia:
Ottoman:
China:
Sample evidence of Reform:
Russia:
Ottoman:
China:
3. Substantiates thesis with appropriate historical evidence.
Give me SPECIFICS here - names, dates, events, people, countries. Don't simply generalize or talk around it. Prove to me that you know the material!
4. Uses relevant world historical context effectively to explain change over time and/or continuity.
Items that you might want to cover here: Imperialism, Industrialization, Nationalism, Enlightenment, Westernization
5. Analyzes the process of change over time and/or continuity.
This is going beyond simply defining decline and reform. You're doing more work to tell me WHY - What are the options available to the country? Why are they making the decisions that they are? You might be taking an active position here - what do you think?!